Endgame
|Written By = Steven L. Sears |Story By = |Teleplay By = |Directed By = Garth Maxwell |Order in Series = 88 of 134 |Order in Season = 20 of 22 |Order in Franchise= 242 of 304 |Prev Episode in Series = "Takes One to Know One" |Next Episode in Series = "The Ides of March" |Prev Episode in Franchise = "Fade Out" |Next Episode in Franchise = "My Best Girl's Wedding" |title cap image = }} When Brutus kills Ephiny in the heat of battle, Gabrielle takes over as the rightful Queen of the Amazons. Meanwhile, Xena pursues Brutus, hoping he'll lead her to Pompey. Summary A group of Greek Amazons led by Ephiny is cautiously advancing upon some Roman soldiers. Though Amarice, a young fighter from another tribe, is eager to fight, Ephiny prefers stealth. Finally, Ephiny orders the attack, but the resistance they encounter is formidable. This group of soldiers is led by Brutus, a brilliant leader and Caesar's most trusted soldier. While saving Amarice, Ephiny is killed at the hands of the Roman hero. With Ephiny dead, Gabrielle is sent for to be the Amazon queen. Gabrielle fishes while Xena watches, amused. Xena and Gabrielle tease each other, and as Xena acts like she's going to throw Gabrielle into the lake, when Amarice suddenly bursts on the scene and moves to defend Gabrielle; she then tells her she must return to the Amazons to take her place as queen, because Ephiny is now dead. She and Xena return to the Amazon village, where they learn from Chilapa that the Romans had attacked them and captured most of the tribe. Xena realizes that it is Pompey, Caesar's enemy, who kidnapped the women to sell as slaves, and Brutus' group is actually after Pompey. Brutus' fight with the Amazons was an unfortunate accident. Gabrielle goes to Ephiny's hut, and kisses her on the forehead, telling her goodbye. Xena and Gabrielle then talk where Xena mentions she has watched the Amazons go from mighty nation to scattered tribes and she wondered if, what she was seeing was their greatness coming to an end. But mentions Ephiny showed her there was hope. Xena takes some amazons out and they capture Brutus, the Roman who killed Ephiny. Brutus walks with a patrol, as two arrows go flying in front of his face. When Xena and the Amazons ride in for battle, the Romans draw their swords. Amarice enters and attacks several Romans. Chilapa and Meslena fire arrows. Brutus raises a crossbow. Xena eventually captures Brutus, figuring that he knows which way Pompey has gone. Amarice and most of the Amazons want to kill Brutus, but Gabrielle resists. Her newly-found belief in non-violence will not allow her to harm Brutus. Amarice tries to kill Brutus while Xena is talking to him to find out where Pompey is, but Xena stops her in time. Gabrielle has Amarice put in prison. Xena interrogates Brutus, using the pinch. Gabrielle cringes while Brutus' nose bleeds, but eventually he spills his guts. Xena doesn't release him right away, but only does so when Gabrielle implores her to do so, saying as the Queen it is her right to determine his punishment. Amarice and Brutus talk about death. Xena comes into the jail and gets Amarice out, saying Gabrielle has pardoned her. In Pompey's camp, he examines his new slave material, which he plans to sell to pirates because he needs dinars. Xena learns where Pompey is going and plans to ambush him. She finds a group of soldiers guarding the Amazons, but her plans seem to have gone awry when Amarice is captured and Xena and her group are forced to surrender. Fortunately, Xena had arrived at this campsite before Pompey's men and managed to hide the weapons underneath the spot of the ambush. Xena and the Amazons escape and take a group of Roman soldiers as prisoners. Upon hearing the news of his troop's defeat, Pompey orders his troops to return to the Amazon village. Gabrielle sends for Brutus and is surprised to discover that he is a good, thoughtful man. Unfortunately, he believes Caesar to be as righteous and honorable as he is. Gabrielle, however, offers Brutus a peace treaty between the Amazons and Rome. Brutus gladfully accepts, upon Caesar's final approval. His honorable nature is even more evident when Brutus offers to let Xena trade him to Pompey in return for not going through with his imminent attack on the village. When Caesar-loyal reinforcements arrive, however, Xena releases Brutus to them, knowing that he will drive off Pompey's forces for her. Xena and Gabrielle lead the Amazons in the main battle, as Brutus' troops crush his troops with artillery attacks. Xena tells Amarice to protect Gabrielle. Xena jumps on Argo and rides straight into the battle, slicing, dicing, and not letting anyone stop her progress. .]] Gabrielle, meanwhile, suddenly rallies the amazons, telling them to go get them for Ephiny! The amazons run forward. Amarice stays with Gabrielle and throws her down in time to save her life. Xena rides forward to Pompey. She jumps off Argo, and slices up some more guys. She confronts Pompey, and they fight. She disarms him, and he pleads for his life, saying Xena needs him to keep Caesar in line. She turns away and Pompey gets up. He comes at Xena with a knife, and she slices his head off. The Amazons defeat Pompey's army. Back at Brutus' camp, he tells his command not to go off in one direction. Xena rides in, and drops a bag with a head in it at Brutus' feet. She tells Brutus not to mention her name to Caesar. Returning to Rome with the news of Pompey's defeat, Brutus is shocked when Caesar burns the peace offer of the Amazons. As Brutus rethinks his loyalty to his leader, the Amazons have a funeral dance and procession for Queen Ephiny. Gabrielle passes her crown on to Chilapa. Xena and Gabrielle return to the road, accompanied by Amarice who, though still impetuous, wants to gain more experience of the world. Xena and Gabrielle go to the funeral pyre, and Gabrielle cries while Xena puts an arm around her and stares into the flames. Disclaimer Pompey's reign came to a head during the production of this motion picture. Background Information Behind the Scenes *This episode was originally called Amazon Reunion. It is also known as Death of Pompey. *David Franklin did his own stunts for the "Brut-drag". He was a bit uneasy about the idea, but he said that everything went as planned, as he was happy in the end that he did it. Key Events *This episode marks the first appearance of Amarice. *This episode is the first to feature Brutus as a main character. It is also the first appearance of David Franklin as Brutus, which was previously played by Grant Triplow and Darren Young. *This episode marks the death (and final appearance) of Pompey. *This episode marks the death of Ephiny. *This episode marks the final mention of Solari. *This episode is the first of a four episode story arc, consisting of "The Ides of March", "Fallen Angel" and "Chakram", as they all revolve around Xena's vision and the aftermath. *This episode marks the last time we see Xena use her Dark Chakram as her main weapon in battle. Goofs *When Xena rides in on Argo towards Carminus and his men, a long shot of Xena riding towards them clearly reveals that it wasn't Lucy Lawless on Argo, due to a clear view of the face. Trivia *'Chakram Count': 2 #To prevent Amarice from killing Brutus. #To disarm several Romans. *This episode and the next are the only ones to feature Julius Caesar and Brutus consecutively. Links and References Main Cast *Lucy Lawless as Xena *Renee O'Connor as Gabrielle Guest Stars *Jennifer Sky as Amarice *Danielle Cormack as Ephiny *Karl Urban as Julius Caesar *Jeremy Callaghan as Pompey Magnus *David Franklin as Brutus *Nicole Whippy as Chilapa References People *Xena *Gabrielle *Amarice *Ephiny *Pompey Magnus *Julius Caesar *Brutus *Chilapa *Solari (Mentioned) *Meslena Places *Greece *Rome Other *Argo Season Navigation de:Auch du, mein Sohn Brutus? Category:XWP Season 4 episodes Category:Episodes featuring the Telaquire Amazon tribe